CategoryEvents
Horror events, screenings and experiences — premieres, festivals and one-night-only shows.
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Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
French comedy/thriller Stéphane from filmmakers Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor is a mockumentary about aspiring short-film director Timothée (Bastien Garcia) and Stéphane (Pastor), the unaware subject of Timothée’s documentary about “a loser.” The pair meet randomly while Timothée is shooting a short film, with Stéphane volunteering to provide some pyrotechnics. One red flag after another about Stéphane goes up and eventually Timothée finds himself staying the night on Stéphane’s private boat before sailing to the latter’s island home. Why Timothée would want to get further involved with the obviously strange Stéphane is a valid question, but this being both a comedy and a thriller, poor decisions make sense to advance this story, and to send things into weirder and more disturbing territory. Both characters are full of themselves in different ways, and lines are blurred about just who is in charge of the crazy wartime-themed short that Timothée wants to complete for a film festival. Hochet and Pastor deliver a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Codirectors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein have unleashed on the world Mad Heidi (Switzerland, 2002), the first Swissploitation film, and it is a bonkers blend of horror, action, and comedy, filled with blood, bare breasts, and cheese of both the comedic and edible kinds. Casper Van Dien chews up scenery like the ubiquitous cheese in the film as dictatorial President Meili, who has dreams of global domination and who owns the only legal cheese factory in Switzerland. His henchmen are developing a new type of cheese, which they discover turns men into mighty mutants — perfect for building an unstoppable army. Meanwhile, mountain girl Heidi (Alice Lucy in a super comic and physical performance) sees her boyfriend Goat Peter (Kel Matsena) — who got his nickname from his, ahem, special way with goats to produce superb cheese — and her grandfather slain by Kommandant Knorr (Max Rüdlinger), ruthless leader of Meili’s Nazi-like army. After some high-level training, Heidi is prepared
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Your Love Is Mine Aficionados of “But is it horror?” films should find plenty to like about the Australian feature Your Love Is Mine, cowritten and codirected by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray. Emotionally distant bartender Violet (Senie Priti) and her mechanic boyfriend Sam (Lester Ellis Jr.) are in a troubled relationship, though both dream of escaping the doldrums of their small-town lives and moving to the big city. Violet is the more pragmatic, and pessimistic, of the couple, while Sam is more of the dreamer. When tragedy strikes one of them — no spoilers here — the other person comes up with a decidedly unusual and even bizarre plan, sending the film from romantic drama into more chilling territory. Your Love Is Mine certainly serves up some fear-fare overtones, but treads more in dark drama and even fantasy territory. Priti and Ellis Jr. are splendid in their lead roles, and the film’s supporting players provide added depth with solid
Continue reading →
EventsHalloweenMovies
Enter if you dare! Just in time for the most bone-chilling time of the year, Madame Tussauds New York and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment today revealed a new horror experience, Warner Bros. Icons of Horror, opening October 21, 2022. The new area celebrates some of the most classic horror possession films ever released by Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. Annabelle and The Nun from The Conjuring Universe, the original possession that started it all, Regan from The Exorcist, and everybody’s most feared clown, Pennywise from IT will bring life to all four films for the first time ever – all under one roof and so lifelike you’ll scream! Incredible wax figures of each character are set within four highly themed, fully immersive scenes. The new experience dares guests to explore every eerie corner and come face to face with some of the most famous tormentors in horror history in incredibly lifelike detail; an experience only possible inside
Continue reading →
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Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The classic fright-fare movie tagline “Not for the squeamish!” deserves to be resurrected for the horror comedy Feed Me (U.K., 2022), cowritten and codirected by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes (Hosts, 2020). This tale of a cannibal and his willing meat supply provides a good deal of gags of both the humorous and queasy varieties. Jed Freeman (Christopher Mulvin) is depressed to the point of ending it all after his wife succumbs to an eating disorder. Lionel Flack (Neal Ward), who knows of Jed’s grief, introduces himself at a bar and tells Jed that he can make all of his troubles disappear. Jed eventually agrees to being eaten by Lionel, and their extremely weird relationship begins. Ward is terrific as the deeply disturbed Lionel, stopping just short of scenery chewing at times, and at others, giving harrowing emotional performances. He goes all in, and he and Mulvin play off each other superbly. Production Designer Amy Lucas (as Amy Lukas), Propmaker
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Revelation There are several horror films set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but writer/director Chris W. Mitchell’s Dutch feature The Revelation (De Openbaring, 2022) is the first one to fully capture my attention and hold it throughout. One of the main reasons for that is the terrific performance by star Victor Löw as Jacob, a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with the dangers of COVID-19 in its early stages, as lockdowns begin and people are deciding how to react to the rapidly spreading virus. Jacob falls into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that drive him to paranoia, as he quits his job to move in with his elderly mother (Leny Breederveld) and shield her from the outside world. His sister Magda (Monic Hendrickx) tries to talk sense into him, but is far too late as visions of his recently deceased father (Peter Bolhuis), who was a highly skilled animal skinner, and the ravings of a dubious
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Sylvan shockers are in no shortage at Screamfest this year. Here’s a look at two of those woods-set features. Deer Camp ‘86 Combining supernatural cabin-in-the-woods elements with slasher fare, first-time director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen’s Deer Camp ‘86 (2022) goes for the jugular, along with several other body parts, in its tale of a group of Detroit friends who head out to the forest to open up the 1986 deer hunting season. They make an ill-fated stop at the bar, where nice guy of the group Wes (Noah LaLonde) falls hard for Native American bartender Star (Tina Manera) while the group is confronted by local racists. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Wes, Star is assaulted and murdered behind the bar before the group leaves. That’s doubly unfortunate, as every time a Native American woman in the area is killed, something attacks any hunters in the area, which Sheriff Paulson (Paul Wilson) puts down to bear attacks — though he knows better. Most
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Prolific fear-fare director Charlie Steeds’ latest effort Freeze (U.K., 2022) is a Lovecraftian creature feature that punches above the weight of its budgetary limitations, resulting in a solid-looking, highly entertaining period piece. The crew of the HMS Innsmouth is on a mission to rescue the HMS Eibon, which was lost during its expedition to the North Pole. HMS Innsmouth’s Captain Mortimer’s (Rory Wilson) good friend Captain Streiner (Tim Cartwright) commanded the lost ship, so he is determined to learn the fate of his friend. Meanwhile, Crewman Redgrave (Jake Watkins) helps hide a woman stowaway named Carmen (Beatrice Barillá), whose brother was an officer on the Eibon. Tension heightens when crewman Spriggs (Ricardo Freitas) (who you just can’t wait to see get his) learns of this. Mortimer’s first mate McCullough (Johnny Vivash) warns the captain that sailing any further ahead in the ice will result in disaster, but Lieutenant Roth (David Lenik), whose father owns HMS Innsmouth, persuades Streiner to forge
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
The following three shorts were part of SLASH Film Festival’s Fantastic Futures competition, which consisted of nine shorts from student filmmakers or first-time filmmakers. Starfuckers Writer/director/star Antonio Marziale delivers a gripping revenge thriller of a decidedly different kind with his short film Starfuckers (2022). The short begins with genre elements such as plastic sheets covering a floor and an atmosphere thick with tension as a young man (Cole Doman) meets a middle-aged man (Jonathan Slavin) with power dynamics obviously skewed toward the older man, who happens to be a film director. The director seems to make a habit of promising male escorts roles in his films that never come about, and a second young man (Marziale) shows up unexpectedly to make his feelings known in an unforgettable way. Marziale gives a jaw-dropping, star-making drag performance that lingers long after the short ends, and is reason enough to seek out this powerful take on Hollywood corruption, though there are plenty of
Continue reading →
EventsHalloweenNewsTrailers
eta and Crypt TV present “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat,” the ultimate horror VR experience launching in Meta Horizon Worlds and Meta Quest TV on Friday, October 21 at 6pm PT/9pm ET. For fans without a Meta Quest 2 VR headset, the experience will be available to watch on Crypt TV’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Written and directed by Eli Roth and starring Vanessa Hudgens and Will Sasso, the 30-minute 180-degree VR experience will take us on a neighborhood trick-or-treating adventure that goes horrifically awry, culminating in a frightening haunted house at the end of the street. “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat” recreates the social and classic experience of going through a haunted house—but this time in VR, inside of Meta Horizon Worlds—full of scares, surprises, and creepy good times that are best shared with friends. In “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat,” the Dollhouse is a decrepit home at the end of the street that should never be entered. Years
Continue reading →
More from Events
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
French comedy/thriller Stéphane from filmmakers Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor is a mockumentary about aspiring short-film director Timothée (Bastien Garcia) and Stéphane (Pastor), the unaware subject of Timothée’s documentary about “a loser.” The pair meet randomly while Timothée is shooting a short film, with Stéphane volunteering to provide some pyrotechnics. One red flag after another about Stéphane goes up and eventually Timothée finds himself staying the night on Stéphane’s private boat before sailing to the latter’s island home. Why Timothée would want to get further involved with the obviously strange Stéphane is a valid question, but this being both a comedy and a thriller, poor decisions make sense to advance this story, and to send things into weirder and more disturbing territory. Both characters are full of themselves in different ways, and lines are blurred about just who is in charge of the crazy wartime-themed short that Timothée wants to complete for a film festival. Hochet and Pastor deliver a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Codirectors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein have unleashed on the world Mad Heidi (Switzerland, 2002), the first Swissploitation film, and it is a bonkers blend of horror, action, and comedy, filled with blood, bare breasts, and cheese of both the comedic and edible kinds. Casper Van Dien chews up scenery like the ubiquitous cheese in the film as dictatorial President Meili, who has dreams of global domination and who owns the only legal cheese factory in Switzerland. His henchmen are developing a new type of cheese, which they discover turns men into mighty mutants — perfect for building an unstoppable army. Meanwhile, mountain girl Heidi (Alice Lucy in a super comic and physical performance) sees her boyfriend Goat Peter (Kel Matsena) — who got his nickname from his, ahem, special way with goats to produce superb cheese — and her grandfather slain by Kommandant Knorr (Max Rüdlinger), ruthless leader of Meili’s Nazi-like army. After some high-level training, Heidi is prepared
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Your Love Is Mine Aficionados of “But is it horror?” films should find plenty to like about the Australian feature Your Love Is Mine, cowritten and codirected by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray. Emotionally distant bartender Violet (Senie Priti) and her mechanic boyfriend Sam (Lester Ellis Jr.) are in a troubled relationship, though both dream of escaping the doldrums of their small-town lives and moving to the big city. Violet is the more pragmatic, and pessimistic, of the couple, while Sam is more of the dreamer. When tragedy strikes one of them — no spoilers here — the other person comes up with a decidedly unusual and even bizarre plan, sending the film from romantic drama into more chilling territory. Your Love Is Mine certainly serves up some fear-fare overtones, but treads more in dark drama and even fantasy territory. Priti and Ellis Jr. are splendid in their lead roles, and the film’s supporting players provide added depth with solid
Continue reading →
EventsHalloweenMovies
Enter if you dare! Just in time for the most bone-chilling time of the year, Madame Tussauds New York and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment today revealed a new horror experience, Warner Bros. Icons of Horror, opening October 21, 2022. The new area celebrates some of the most classic horror possession films ever released by Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. Annabelle and The Nun from The Conjuring Universe, the original possession that started it all, Regan from The Exorcist, and everybody’s most feared clown, Pennywise from IT will bring life to all four films for the first time ever – all under one roof and so lifelike you’ll scream! Incredible wax figures of each character are set within four highly themed, fully immersive scenes. The new experience dares guests to explore every eerie corner and come face to face with some of the most famous tormentors in horror history in incredibly lifelike detail; an experience only possible inside
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The classic fright-fare movie tagline “Not for the squeamish!” deserves to be resurrected for the horror comedy Feed Me (U.K., 2022), cowritten and codirected by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes (Hosts, 2020). This tale of a cannibal and his willing meat supply provides a good deal of gags of both the humorous and queasy varieties. Jed Freeman (Christopher Mulvin) is depressed to the point of ending it all after his wife succumbs to an eating disorder. Lionel Flack (Neal Ward), who knows of Jed’s grief, introduces himself at a bar and tells Jed that he can make all of his troubles disappear. Jed eventually agrees to being eaten by Lionel, and their extremely weird relationship begins. Ward is terrific as the deeply disturbed Lionel, stopping just short of scenery chewing at times, and at others, giving harrowing emotional performances. He goes all in, and he and Mulvin play off each other superbly. Production Designer Amy Lucas (as Amy Lukas), Propmaker
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Revelation There are several horror films set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but writer/director Chris W. Mitchell’s Dutch feature The Revelation (De Openbaring, 2022) is the first one to fully capture my attention and hold it throughout. One of the main reasons for that is the terrific performance by star Victor Löw as Jacob, a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with the dangers of COVID-19 in its early stages, as lockdowns begin and people are deciding how to react to the rapidly spreading virus. Jacob falls into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that drive him to paranoia, as he quits his job to move in with his elderly mother (Leny Breederveld) and shield her from the outside world. His sister Magda (Monic Hendrickx) tries to talk sense into him, but is far too late as visions of his recently deceased father (Peter Bolhuis), who was a highly skilled animal skinner, and the ravings of a dubious
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Sylvan shockers are in no shortage at Screamfest this year. Here’s a look at two of those woods-set features. Deer Camp ‘86 Combining supernatural cabin-in-the-woods elements with slasher fare, first-time director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen’s Deer Camp ‘86 (2022) goes for the jugular, along with several other body parts, in its tale of a group of Detroit friends who head out to the forest to open up the 1986 deer hunting season. They make an ill-fated stop at the bar, where nice guy of the group Wes (Noah LaLonde) falls hard for Native American bartender Star (Tina Manera) while the group is confronted by local racists. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Wes, Star is assaulted and murdered behind the bar before the group leaves. That’s doubly unfortunate, as every time a Native American woman in the area is killed, something attacks any hunters in the area, which Sheriff Paulson (Paul Wilson) puts down to bear attacks — though he knows better. Most
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Prolific fear-fare director Charlie Steeds’ latest effort Freeze (U.K., 2022) is a Lovecraftian creature feature that punches above the weight of its budgetary limitations, resulting in a solid-looking, highly entertaining period piece. The crew of the HMS Innsmouth is on a mission to rescue the HMS Eibon, which was lost during its expedition to the North Pole. HMS Innsmouth’s Captain Mortimer’s (Rory Wilson) good friend Captain Streiner (Tim Cartwright) commanded the lost ship, so he is determined to learn the fate of his friend. Meanwhile, Crewman Redgrave (Jake Watkins) helps hide a woman stowaway named Carmen (Beatrice Barillá), whose brother was an officer on the Eibon. Tension heightens when crewman Spriggs (Ricardo Freitas) (who you just can’t wait to see get his) learns of this. Mortimer’s first mate McCullough (Johnny Vivash) warns the captain that sailing any further ahead in the ice will result in disaster, but Lieutenant Roth (David Lenik), whose father owns HMS Innsmouth, persuades Streiner to forge
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
The following three shorts were part of SLASH Film Festival’s Fantastic Futures competition, which consisted of nine shorts from student filmmakers or first-time filmmakers. Starfuckers Writer/director/star Antonio Marziale delivers a gripping revenge thriller of a decidedly different kind with his short film Starfuckers (2022). The short begins with genre elements such as plastic sheets covering a floor and an atmosphere thick with tension as a young man (Cole Doman) meets a middle-aged man (Jonathan Slavin) with power dynamics obviously skewed toward the older man, who happens to be a film director. The director seems to make a habit of promising male escorts roles in his films that never come about, and a second young man (Marziale) shows up unexpectedly to make his feelings known in an unforgettable way. Marziale gives a jaw-dropping, star-making drag performance that lingers long after the short ends, and is reason enough to seek out this powerful take on Hollywood corruption, though there are plenty of
Continue reading →
EventsHalloweenNewsTrailers
eta and Crypt TV present “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat,” the ultimate horror VR experience launching in Meta Horizon Worlds and Meta Quest TV on Friday, October 21 at 6pm PT/9pm ET. For fans without a Meta Quest 2 VR headset, the experience will be available to watch on Crypt TV’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Written and directed by Eli Roth and starring Vanessa Hudgens and Will Sasso, the 30-minute 180-degree VR experience will take us on a neighborhood trick-or-treating adventure that goes horrifically awry, culminating in a frightening haunted house at the end of the street. “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat” recreates the social and classic experience of going through a haunted house—but this time in VR, inside of Meta Horizon Worlds—full of scares, surprises, and creepy good times that are best shared with friends. In “Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat,” the Dollhouse is a decrepit home at the end of the street that should never be entered. Years
Continue reading →
